Last updated 3 September 2026
The limits used here
- X (Twitter) — 280 characters
- Instagram caption — 2,200 characters
- Facebook post — 63,206 characters (practically unlimited, but shown for completeness)
- LinkedIn post — 3,000 characters
- TikTok caption — 2,200 characters
- YouTube title — 100 characters
Platforms occasionally adjust these, so treat the numbers as a close, current guide rather than a permanent guarantee.
Where posts actually get cut off
A character limit is a hard stop, but most platforms cut a post visually long before it. Instagram shows roughly the first 125 characters of a caption in the feed and hides the rest behind more. LinkedIn collapses at around 210 characters on desktop and a little earlier on mobile. Facebook shows about 250. X does not truncate at all below 280, so the whole post is visible.
That gives you two numbers to write against, not one. The limit tells you whether the post will publish; the preview cutoff tells you how much of it a scrolling reader will ever see. In practice the useful habit is to put the hook and the point in the first 120 characters and let everything after that be detail for the people who tapped through.
Writing one caption for several platforms
If you are posting the same copy everywhere, the binding constraint is almost always X at 280 and, if you are cross-posting to YouTube, the 100-character title. Write to the tightest limit first and then expand for the platforms that allow more, rather than writing 2,000 words and trying to cut it down five different ways.
One thing worth knowing: links behave differently by platform. X counts every URL as 23 characters regardless of its real length, so a long tracking link costs you the same as a short one. Elsewhere the URL is counted character by character, which is where a long UTM string can quietly eat 80 characters of a caption.
Common questions
Why check against every platform at once?
Most people write one caption and post it everywhere. Checking all the limits at the same time shows immediately which platforms are fine and which will cut the post off, instead of checking each site separately.
Do emoji count as one character?
This tool counts by visible character (code point), which matches how most platforms count for their limits. A small number of complex emoji sequences are counted slightly differently on some platforms, but this is accurate for the vast majority of posts.
Where do these limits come from?
They're each platform's current published or commonly cited limit — 280 for X, 2,200 for an Instagram caption, and so on. Platforms do change these occasionally, so treat them as a close, current guide rather than a permanent guarantee.
Does a link count towards the character limit?
On X, every URL is counted as 23 characters no matter how long it really is, so shortening a link there gains you nothing. On Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok the full URL is counted character by character, so a long tracking parameter genuinely costs you caption space.
Do hashtags count as characters?
Yes, on every platform. A hashtag is ordinary text as far as the limit is concerned, including the # symbol. Ten hashtags averaging twelve characters each will use around 130 characters of your allowance, which is close to half an X post.
What is the difference between the limit and the preview cutoff?
The limit is where the platform refuses to publish. The preview cutoff is where it hides the rest behind a more link — roughly 125 characters on Instagram, 210 on LinkedIn, 250 on Facebook. This tool shows the limits; the cutoffs are worth writing to as well.